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Friday, June 3, 2016

As a Nurse, I am very much interested on learning what's new in medicine science, health care technology, and innovations in health and wellness. I believe that these greatly impacts our existence and continuation of life while taking into consideration what are the available treatments and prevention measures we can do in order to achieve this.

Recently, I attended an event that provided a great opportunity for me to blog about stem cell research. The Cordlife team, led by brand manager, Ms. Jonelyn De Belen along with medical and brand experts were able elucidate the participants on the benefits of banking Cord blood.

Cord blood banking and cord blood stem cell is not new to me, but I might as well talk about this because I felt that majority of our Filipino parents are not familiar what this is all about.

Before I get into talking about medical terms and babble about stem cell research, let us first know the nature of the umbilical cord.

What is the umbilical cord?

Image from Adam

During pregnancy, the umbilical cord is the only thing that connects the baby in the womb to its mother. It provides nourishment and sustains the life of the fetus baby for the whole period of pregnancy until it is born. Because it is connected to the placenta, the umbilical cord is also able to supply the baby with antibodies providing innate immunity for about three months after birth.

After birth, the umbilical cord is cut and gets discarded as medicine waste. No use.

But wait...

The umbilical cord is now making a name in medicine science as researches on stem cell technology have shown that cord blood is a viable alternative for stem cell transplants in comparison with traditional bone marrow transplants.

Okay, let us go deeper into the discussion.

Cord Blood and It's Benefits

Because the cord blood is rich in HSCs or Hematopoietic Stem Cells (I know it's a big word, but don't fret about it. The vastness of its name holds true to its potentials), it has been known that they have the capacity to do these following functions:

Replace and regenerate (build new) damaged or diseased bone marrows

Treatment for blood cancers. (I'm talking about the leukemias here)

Correct genetic defects, and

Potential for cellular therapy and regenerative medicine (yes, the fountain of youth!)

The HSCs are composed of the Red Blood Cells (RBCs) which are responsible for supplying oxygen to different tissues and organs in the body, White Blood Cells (WBCs) which are responsible for fighting infection an enhancing one's immunity to diseases, and Platelets which is responsible for blood clotting.

So, the main idea here is that cord blood can be used later for medical emergencies such as stem cell transplants in cases like leukemia and lymphoma. Being diagnosed with leukemia or any form of cancer is like listening to your death sentence. Now, with cord blood, the name of the game is changed. Stem cells in the baby's cord blood have the potential to be used in the treatment of many diseases today. Stem cells could be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders. In a cord blood transplant, stem cells are infused into a patient’s bloodstream where they go to work - healing and repairing damaged cells and tissue. With the successful engraftment of the stem cells (new blood-forming cells start to grow and make healthy blood stem cells), the patient’s blood and immune system are regenerated.

This is indeed a promising outlook, most specially if you have a high-risk familial disease to cancer or genetic disorders. Nonetheless, storing cord blood for later use is only done one time -- right after delivery. You can never repeat this again (well if you can wait until you get pregnant again and finally decide to avail this once in a lifetime opportunity). That's why Cord Life Philippines aptly selected a very good shout out to all parents that this is a One Chance, One Choice decision that can ultimately save lives for your baby and even up to the third generation of the family.

Yes, you heard it right. Cord Life Philippines provides coverage of storing your baby’s cord blood to 3 generations of your family with Cord Blood Network. This is an amazing biological insurance, so to speak, i.e., you have in your hands the answer to help your baby and your family's medical problems in the future.

If you are pregnant right now, it is the best time to think and consider about cord blood banking. This is indeed a very wise investment for your family.

What's very nice to know is that you can now store cord blood here in the Philippines and processing of any request or transactions can be done easily and in a very timely manner. Unlike before that cord blood can only be stored overseas like in Singapore or India. That's a major hassle, right?

For more information, you can visit their website here: Cord Life Philippines. You can also connect thru their Facebook page where you will be introduced to the celebrity moms who have already considered cord blood banking and are advocating other moms to do so.